


Graduation Speech

by likeasouffle



Category: Glee
Genre: Gen, Graduation, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-16 20:04:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1360045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likeasouffle/pseuds/likeasouffle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The-Multicorn prompted: Blaine has to give a speech for graduation.<br/><a href="http://likearumchocolatesouffle.tumblr.com/post/72706923186/drabble-prompt-blaine-has-to-give-a-speech-for">Read on Tumblr</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Graduation Speech

Good afternoon. Teachers, staff, family and friends, and to all the graduates, welcome.

It has been an honour to be your senior class president this year. It will be hard to say goodbye to all my friends, my classmates, the members of the twenty-three clubs I’ve been part of all year… Even the teachers. I’ve learned so much, and some of what I’ve learned I’d like to pass along to you. Hopefully some of this is useful to you as you move on to the next part of your journey, whether that’s college, work, family, or just figuring yourself out for a while. Here are nine pieces of wisdom that I think everyone should have.

One. If you’re finding the work you’re supposed to be doing impossible, and everyone else seems to find it easy, it doesn’t necessarily mean you weren’t built right for the work. It might mean the work wasn’t built right for you. It’s okay to ask for help, and to figure out a better way to work than what you’ve been taught.

Two. If the person you love goes to work or school in a faraway place and you feel desperately alone, it doesn’t mean you need them to come back to you. It means you had set them up as your only support system, and you need to spend more time talking to your friends.

Three. When I say “talking,” I mean _really_ talking. Not about comic books and music, but about your feelings, the things that keep you up at night, the things that make you feel guilty, or scared, or happy and fulfilled. You deserve more than one person you can be truly yourself with.

Four. If someone close to you dies, it’s okay to grieve in whatever way feels right for you: loudly or quietly, quickly or slowly, socially or reclusively. It’s not selfish. And if it is, well, it’s okay to be selfish sometimes too.

Five. If you ever feel helpless, it’s okay to want your mommy.

Six. If I can get political for a second, most of us are either eighteen or will be very soon, which means we’ll be able to vote.  If you’re ever asked to vote on someone else’s human rights, I’d like you to ask yourself: Is this a right that I myself already have? And if so, what makes me more deserving than someone else? I think this is a pretty good standard by which to measure most decisions that affect other people. Do you deserve rights more than someone else does? I think you’ll find, most of the time, that you don’t.

Which is not to say that you’re not a wonderful person. I’m sure you are. But you don’t get human rights for being good; you get human rights for being human.

Seven. Sometimes people might hate you. They might hate you because you’re part of a minority and they’re bigoted. They might hate you because _they’re_ the minority and you’re part of the privileged upper class. Sometimes both those scenarios might happen on the same day. Yes, really. But neither one is a reflection of your moral character. Don’t let the opinions of strangers affect your self esteem too much, because chances are, they have all kinds of biases you don’t know about. It’s your actions that truly define you.

Eight. If you ever propose to a diva, go big or go home.

And finally, nine. Keep a song in your heart. It may not be literal music that lights you up and drives you to greet each day with a smile, but whatever it is that does, keep that close to you. Never be afraid to sing and dance in public, because you never know who might want to join in, and because a life spent doing what you love, at least some of the time, is a life worth living.

Thank you, McKinley High, for being my home these last two years, and for teaching me so much. Congratulations, graduates! We did it!


End file.
